When you are in the beginning stage of your business, it seems that the idea, desire, ambition and unique features are all you need for a successful start and stable development. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. It’s simply not enough. A successful business is a type of code that you write at the beginning of the process and will improve as you move forward. My experience as a mobile app developer allows me to deliver simple and clear advice for entrepreneurs and beginners regarding application development. To become a successful business, every mobile application must go through several stages. This process taught me a few lessons that I have used in the creation and building of the company, and which I use for its ongoing development to this day.

 

Lessons on successful business from application developers

 

While designing and developing mobile apps, I came to the conclusion that I can apply the same steps to the development of my business as well. The process of moving from an idea to a result in this industry is quite consistent and clear. A solid understanding of where to start and how to move forward is half the battle.

 

Study or research

The world of applications is a highly competitive environment. Every detail is important, as they either provide an advantage or pull the product to the bottom. Some developers, in addition to some novice businessmen, believe that they only have to start the idea, and then neglect detailed market and business environment research.

Even if you have a brilliant idea, don’t be lazy. Make sure to find out if someone has already put it into practice. This does not mean that one should give up on the idea; it simply means that you will have to implement it while taking into account the competitive advantages. A business that isn’t intimately familiar with the market, its competitors, advantages, and disadvantages is doomed to failure.

 

The definition of the target audience/customers/consumers

This is one of the first steps for any developer. Each application is designed for a specific audience, so the more familiar a developer is with this audience, the easier and more effectively he can promote a product. The same principle applies to business. If you know your audience (potential clients/customers), you can penetrate the market much more effectively, and gain your desired part of it. However, it should be considered that in the case of applications, a developer can adapt his product to the audience during its implementation. In business, this is much more difficult to do, so you should approach this issue with care.

 

Focus

You can agree that in the world of mobile apps, there is an interesting trend – simplicity can be a defining characteristic of success. Examples of this include Viber, Instagram and Dropbox. These apps are simple, yet successful and widely used. In their case, the developers did not implement a large number of functions, but, instead, focused on a specific opportunity that capitalized on perfectly. In other words, a large number of functions doesn’t necessarily mean a large number of downloads.

Novice entrepreneurs can learn a great deal from this lesson. Focus only on what you're doing. Don’t waste excess time and energy on unnecessary details or complexity. Design your product or service to perfection and emphasize only its strengths.

If you have other ideas, it’s better to launch a new product or diversify activities, rather than allow your core idea to be overshadowed with new properties and functions. In a case like that, there is also the risk that your business will simply cease to be of interest to the selected audience; instead of the expected success, your offering will lose its competitiveness. Try to create something unique for new niches and audiences.

 

Implementation

In the world of mobile applications, everything happens very quickly, from the embodiment of the idea to the final implementation. The success of your app largely depends on how correctly and professionally the developer brought the idea to life. The application must meet the high standards of its audience in order to be competitive. A second chance to win over users is very rare.

This is a good lesson within any business sector. Of course, the development of a company or a product does not usually occur so rapidly, but it is valuable to learn from this experience and enter the market with a finished product. In other words, you should not launch a product if you have not developed the idea to a level at which potential customers will prefer it. Your product may not get a second chance to regain the trust of customers. You have more time for capital investment than app developers, so use it!

 

Sequence

Developers often make one very big mistake. They believe that the job is done once the application is released and reaches the market. Actually, very few can conquer the market overnight. The lion's share of apps in the highest class are winning their users little by little. To do this, developers invest a serious amount of time.

The instant income and success strategy is disastrous for business in 99 out of 100 cases. Success is more complicated than simply starting a business or releasing a product. That is only the beginning, and only with careful planning will you retain your customers and attract new ones. In addition, looking at every day, you should be able to improve the competitiveness of your product or service. For developers, this is slightly easier. After they fix a bug or release a new product, their customers are interested again. However, a business retaining customers is much more difficult, so it’s important to not only attract new ones, but also satisfy and motivate existing ones.

 

In conclusion 

The lessons and principles stated above are quite obvious. While reading that information, many will say, “What’s new about that?” However, all I wanted to do was convey the idea that in order to be successful in any field, one needs to look at familiar things in a new way, in order to reflect on where you can apply something that already exists.

I would be thrilled if my personal experience could be useful to someone, and I would be happy if others also shared their similar project experiences. Remember, the opportunity to apply lessons learned from others – adopting their experience and learning the ropes – is one of the most valuable gifts in the development of a successful business.